Enjoy the Ride

Saidina Ali (A cousin and a good friend of Prophet Muhammad) somewhat did say:

"I prefer to argue with my friends in unity rather acting nice with them in disunity".

The Elite initiators of Islam Hadhari however prefer otherwise. Before the election, they promise us no fuel hike but nearly 3 months after being elected again as the government (though without 2/3 majority), the fuel price is raised in a parabolic pattern. Contrary to what was promised by the opposition, the Elite made a move considered as political harakiri. Their only reason is simple - to accept reality in tandem with the global pricing. The elite decided to float the price to the open market.

This was not the first time. Fuel price hikes were done many times before during the tenure of their ruling. The last time they did take out the chunk of the subsidy, the least they did it in a nice way or funny way by first explaining to the public the reasons behind the move. They even gave us a very funny slogan:

"HELP US TO HELP YOU"

Well we did help (by force of course) but what do we get in return?

Taking on Malaysian voters for a ride by telling lies is an act of hypocrisy. No? Being in their suits and tie, nice talking, smiling and waving for the means of being elected is not hypocrisy? Let's check on how Islam (probably not Islam Hadhari) lay out the elements of hypocrisy:

a) When they speak, they tell lies - Yep
b) When they promise, they break it - Yep
c) When given the trust, they betray it - Maybe yes or else why bother to shred the documents after losing?
d) When in arguments, they will never admit to concur especially to their lies, broken promises and betrayal of trust - Obviously and their Elite Legend is the worst of them all.

Interesting...... Open markets in execution among so many other commodities and necessities of life, it has to be the fuel.

Is it really logical? Is there a scam? Is it because of something else?

Elite oo Elite, is it a mystery that we are the net oil exporting nation? Has Petronas becoming even more mysterious not only in bailing out but also something else that the financial statements has never been revealed (of sort)? How come you Elite still have not sacked that Elite? You Elite don't sack another Elite right?

Elite oo Elite, we too are an oil importing nation right? Who owns the shipping company that is responsible for the importing operations ... ehem ehem *wink* ... importing via Singapore some more ... wow!

Elite oo Elite, among so many commodities and necessities, fuel is now floated to the open markets but why not automobile? Comparing Proton Wira and Toyota Vios, Malaysians are paying at a premium price of about RM 26,000. That's 9,600 liters of fuel!

Elite oo Elite, without doubt Sabah and Sarawak have becoming politically phenomenal and now a deciding factor to whom to rule the nation. Question is, in tandem with global pricing or in tandem with political allies? You know, perhaps their demand in better oil royalties are fulfilled (Can't blame them right?) *wink*

Elite oo Elite, why the global pricing has to be the reason behind the hike? Is not better global pricing is good for us? Is it because something else? Are you selling our oil at 1998 oil price ... you know, Japanese loans during the financial crisis in return for oil contracts? *wink*

Elite oo Elite, should the japanese loans to be true, aren't we in double troubles? You know, not only the mismanagement in the nation wealth handling (selling oil at a ridiculously low price) but also the conversion of more ringgit to JPY as USD has been weakening along the years.

Elite oo Elite, if not so, then never mind at USD 130 per barrel, even at USD 30 per barrel, the nation as a whole should enjoy luxurious life right now as in Dubai! No? :-)

Elite oo Elite, price hike is said to help upbringing national developments? What developments dear Elite? Like building the highways which in the end Malaysians have to pay for the toll kind of development? Like moving University Malaya to Sepang area (where the lecturers, university staffs and the students have to travel from everywhere to a remote place with fuel price hike some more) so you Elite can build all those luxurious living-with-style for you Elite kind of development?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Sorry but the slogan "HELP US TO HELP YOU" is not funny BUT disgusting. The fuel price hike is not helping anybody and the nation completely. Economically, it does not even make any sense for an oil exporting nation UNLESS ... there is a wealth mismanagement somewhere. Come to think of it, it has to be ...

There are many reasons on why the fuel price hike will not help anybody (exceptional goes to the Elite):

Without doubt businesses will have no choice but to adjust to the new rate. This is where you Elite have missed greatly with mega ignorance - FUEL IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL COMMODITY IN BUSINESSES. Prices in any products (or mostly should we discounted some services) will have to rise no matter how the Elite thought they can control.

Consumers too will have to re-adjust their expenditures (exceptional of course will have to go to the Elite). Standard of living will have to go down.

In economics and even in reality, there are so many products that rely heavily on pricing. Certain products can sell well at certain price and can at least make some profits should business raise the pricing. Any products however (exceptional goes to those which are inelastic ... like ... ehem ehem ... FUEL!!!), cannot be sold at certain price level. Should a product be adjusted according to the new fuel hike and is pricing at the level it can't be sold, a business have to re-structured or close down. Should this happen and will happen to certain businesses, unemployment shall rise.

Not only unemployment shall rise, employers too have no choice but to bargain with the newbies who are starting to look for a job for a lower salary. Exceptional of course goes to you Elite because you are Elite :-)

Well, unlike you Elite who can afford to go for your vacations overseas (where got class for you Elite to do local vacation ... at least New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Paris, London and all), the people have to cut down on vacation spending. This is okay to us because we don't mind taking our kids to the nearby parks for fresh air and playing (unlike your Elite kids, our kids are not that demanding) but pity the local tourism industry that will suffer. With the price hike, cost on traveling is getting huge. No? You Elite go figure la. Ooppss, exceptional goes to you Elite as the price hike is just peanuts to you.

You Elite don't have to worry as you have managed to shelter, feed, dress and educate your kids very well and luxuriously too. To the rest of the people, they can start to worry a lot. Even before the price hike, we already have faced the food price hike where parents having difficulties providing money to their kids particularly those studying at the college or university level. Expect more and more university students to be hungrier than ever. So what happen when they are hungry? Well, immorality breeds immorality and these are the only tips of the iceberg.

Not only starvation is so close to immorality, it is also close to violence. It is not statistically new that poor standard of living is proportion to criminal rates. You Elite of course don't have to worry that much regarding the safety of your family because you Elite can afford better security. So far, they were not your kids who have been snatched, kidnapped, raped, murdered and other inhuman acts right? You Elite are not the ones who have to walk alone at night or early in the morning to the train stations or bus stops to work right and exposed yourself to be snatched right?

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Enjoy Your Ride

The fuel price hike is sure a political suicide move OR is it your Elite tricky move? You know, like the Sparsky chess opening where you start off with aggressive and offensive openings then retreat back for a long play defensive game. Perhaps, you Elite have foreseen your total lost in the next election so the need to rake the nations wealth as much as possible before the coming election in the name of developments cannot be prolonged?

Whatever behind your moves are, obviously there is a mega desperate need to know what exactly has happened particularly 22 years of premiership by you know who. There is a mega desperate need to know how the wealth of the nation is managed. The price hike is obviously the signal that something somewhere is so mismanaged. As you Elite has provided the signal yourself, enjoy the ride. Oh yes, don't forget to get ready with the shredding machines too. You Elite can ask your Selangor Elite for help on this one as he has the experience :-)

Strange isn't it. Before the election, you Elite were so arrogant, so not behaved with keris waving some more, but after the election, you are getting even worse. After the election, your faces look more stupid and funnier than ever :-) Right after the price hike, your faces look disgusting :-)

By the way, to you Elite who do blog, please don't bother to keep acting that you are into helping the poor and so on whatever. You know what they say, YOU CAN JOKE TO SOME PEOPLE SOMETIMES BUT YOU CANNOT JOKE TO ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME. Oh by the way, please don't joke around. Now onwards, whatever you do, say, not say, whatever ... IS DISGUSTING.

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On YouTube

I have posted an old song of mine: Aku, Sheryl dan Malam (Me, Sheryl and The Night) Aku, Sheryl dan Malam (Me, Sheryl and The Night) at YouTube.

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The Elitism Series: Behind Nationalism

Song and Music by Azer Mantessa
Flash Illustrations by Azer Mantessa